Cross-dressing melodrama

Not many filmmakers understand the workings of desire and express carnality through images as well as François Ozon, a fact he quickly re-demonstrates with the introductory scene of his new film: attraction, jealousy and lust, effectively and alluringly communicated. It’s a shame, then, that the ensuing story of a man coping with despair by cross-dressing doesn’t set off many fireworks. Repetitive, unconvincing, melodramatic, it’s a reluctant camp-fest that’s only partly salvaged by a fiercely committed star turn from Romain Duris.